Occasional Magazine Vol.4 No.6 (June 1931)
The New Forest District by G. B. B. Johnson. The author’s critical and detailed paper divides the history of the New Forest District into pre- and post-Norman days. He first considers what picture of the country and its people emerges from archaeological finds and the notable researches of Heywood Sumner. The progress in civilisation through the Old and New Stone Ages, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age takes the story to about 500 B.C., relying on evidence from camps, earthworks and burial mounds. The Celtic invasions of about 600-400 B.C. saw increasing trade with the Continent and here Johnson examines what evidence there is for Cornish tin being brought up to Milford en route to the Isle of Wight. The District was relatively untouched by Roman life after the invasion of 43 A.D., no place being occupied permanently nor was there much road building. After the Romans left in 410, Jutish settlements are known on the Isle of Wight and the mainland opposite. With conquest of much of the south of England by the West Saxons, Hampshire and the Island were part of the Kingdom of Wessex by about 800. Some sporadic ravaging of the Hampshire coast by the Danes followed before the Norman Conquest. The second part of the paper notes that in 1079 William I established the New Forest exclusively as a Royal Hunting Ground by adding to King’s Lands existing from Saxon days. The exact boundaries were fixed within which Forest Law then applied and interpretations of how this afforestation affected the inhabitants differ sharply. It seems unlikely men were driven from their homes: rather, villages were deserted and fell into decay. Deliberate destruction of churches is also improbable and others were soon allowed to be built. The history of churches in the District is considered here, including Milford and the favoured Aluric. Much land was not sufficiently fertile to encourage settlement, so the District was never thickly populated. Much was heath suitable only for rough pasture or for hunting. Often only the woodland in a locality was taken and life continued as before. But later Kings afforested more and more land and the author details the types of Deer and Wild Boar reserved for them and notes the other beasts of the Forest. The death of Rufus and its aftermath are described, together with some of the cruel Forest Laws. These laws became more humane in 1217 with a Charta de Foresta. New boundaries of the Forest were fixed by perambulations in 1280 and 1300, which disafforested outer parts (called purlieus) so that Forest Law no longer applied. However, purlieus (including Milford) retained some Forest rights, such as pasture for animals, turbary (taking turf) and estover (getting wood). From 1450 the Forest was more important for timber supply than as a hunting ground. An Act of 1698 gave the Crown the right to make enclosures for growing trees where Commoners’ animals might not graze. The many ensuing disputes were ended by an 1877 Act limiting enclosures and Game Laws were also introduced. The comprehensive paper ends with a description of the Verderers’ Court and its powers to preserve Commoners’ rights and to protect trees and game. But a current [1931] grievance remains that the Government runs the New Forest as a business proposition and fails to preserve its natural beauty.
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